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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26631424">Changes - Ishimondo</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cooldinosaurs/pseuds/cooldinosaurs'>cooldinosaurs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, danganronpa - Freeform, ishimondo - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:40:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,564</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26631424</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cooldinosaurs/pseuds/cooldinosaurs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Owada do not like each other. But what happens when Mondo needs help studying and they're forced to spend time together? The answer surprises them both.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>256</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Encounters - POV Taka</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic is based on a roleplay between me and my friend! It's definitely not 100% canon, we were just having fun! Enjoy! (:</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kiyotaka Ishimaru walked down the hallway, standing tall, his boots clicking on the tiles as he did. In his hand was a wooden hall pass, swinging at his side as his arms did. He normally wouldn’t ever use the hall pass. He would rather wait until class was over and use the restroom during passing time, but today, he felt like his brain was turning into mush, so he decided to take just a couple of minutes for himself.</p><p>	Taka found solace in the hallways of school. It was where he felt he belonged. The hallways were always quiet during classes, save a few delinquents wandering around, having loud conversations, and sometimes even running. Taka didn’t mind when he came across those sorts of delinquents, though. It was just a chance to use his talent.</p><p>	The hall monitor turned on his heel, as he had finally made it to the bathroom. He reached out to grab the handle and pulled the door open.</p><p>	Taka immediately wrinkled his nose, a rather unpleasant scent invading his nostrils. It only took a moment of investigation to spot Mondo Owada, the biker, sitting on the windowsill and blowing the smoke from a cigarette out of a cracked window. When the biker saw Taka, he rolled his eyes and tapped on the end of the cigarette, causing ash to fall out of the window.</p><p>	“Mondo Owada!” Taka pointed at the boy, feeling the anger rise within him. “You must not smoke on school grounds!” He knew that the biker was a frequent rulebreaker, but he was surprised to see him smoking inside rather than in his usual spot underneath the entrance arch to the building. Mondo looked over and huffed, rolling his eyes once again.</p><p>	“Fuckin’ calm down, man. I’m almost done with it,” Mondo said, taking another drag. This time, instead of blowing it out the window, he turned to Taka and exhaled right into the hall monitor’s face. This enraged Taka.</p><p>	“It doesn’t matter if you are almost done with it!” Taka stomped his way over to the windowsill as he spoke. “Smoking a cigarette is not appropriate during a class period!” He crossed his arms and planted his feet. After a moment of just staring, he reached out to try to pluck the cig from Mondo’s hand, but he turned, placing the contraband out of his reach.</p><p>	“Dude, fuck off,” Mondo said, hopping down from the windowsill. Taka examined him for a moment. He was in his usual biker jacket and other clothes that were not appropriate for a school environment. “I ain’t doin’ shit to hurt no one, alright? So just leave me the fuck alone.” He kept his body turned away from Taka, his arm keeping the cigarette out of reach.</p><p>	Taka reached even further, extending his arm about as far as it could go, his chest bumping up against the other boy. Once it was within his grasp, he snatched the cigarette and moved away quickly, pressing the lit end into the sink. As he flicked on the tap, letting the water run over the now put-out cigarette, he made a disgusted face. It was one of his least favorite smells.</p><p>	“Owada, you would do well to follow the rules. It seems you are already in trouble on the daily.”</p><p>	Taka could feel the tension in the air, but nothing could have prepared him for the biker stepping forward so he was right in front of him and grabbing him by the collar. Taka gulped. He winced, bracing himself for the punch to the gut, or the face, or wherever that was sure to come. Honestly, he expected as much at this point.</p><p>	“What the fuck does it matter to you?” Taka could smell the cigarettes on the biker’s breath. “Why don’t you get the stick outta yer ass and just get outta here?”</p><p>	Taka gulped. It was clear that Mondo could beat him up easily; the guy was enormous. But the boy was breaking the rules, and Taka knew he had to stand his ground; he was afraid if he showed fear, it would get worse.</p><p>	“It matters because everyone here should be following the rules!” Taka said, trying to keep his voice as steady as he possibly could. “You were selected for this academy because you have a talent! You are here to further that talent, not to skip class to smoke in the bathroom.”</p><p>	Mondo pushed Taka away, the action accompanied by a rude laugh.</p><p>	“You’re fuckin’ with me, right?” Mondo stared at Taka in disbelief, reaching up and fluffing his hair. He almost looked amused. “I’m the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, dude. Skipping class to smoke is practically furthering my talent.” Mondo stood up even straighter, and he seemed to flex his muscles, as if reminding the smaller boy he could easily harm him. “Not all of us got in here for bein’ a goody two-shoes and followin’ all the damn rules.”</p><p>	Taka’s posture sunk just for a second before he straightened himself out again.</p><p>	“You don’t know me at all, Owada! So do not speak like you do,” Taka said, puffing out his chest to make himself look as big as possible. “I would advise you to return to class.”</p><p>	“Yeah?” Mondo matched Taka’s posture, puffing his chest out as well. “Or what? You gonna do somethin’ about it, rule book?”</p><p>	Taka’s eyes went wide and he got just a bit more afraid.</p><p>	“I’ll. . .” Taka struggled to think of something to say in response. “I’ll go get Principal Kirigiri!” His voice was confident now; he had quite a positive relationship with the principal of their school, so he trusted the man to do something about Mondo’s delinquency. Mondo scoffed and rolled his eyes.</p><p>	“And what if I don’t let you get to him, huh?” Mondo stepped in front of the door, sending a shiver down Taka’s spine. His posture fell completely, all of his composure gone, and he could not find the mental energy to pick himself back up. His hands instinctively moved in front of his body, as if to protect himself.</p><p>	“Are you going to kill me?” Taka’s voice was no louder than a whisper. He watched as Mondo relaxed his posture just a bit, an incredulous look coming onto his face.</p><p>	“What?” Mondo said, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. “Are you fuckin’ serious?”</p><p>	“You’re a biker gang leader!” Taka said, his voice shaky. “I don’t know what biker gangs do!” He took a step back, but found the wall, which made him feel incredibly anxious and trapped. “And you don’t exactly have a track record of liking me.” While the biker had never physically attacked him, unlike some other people in the school, he wasn’t particularly kind to him.</p><p>	Mondo stepped away from the door, allowing Taka to relax a bit.</p><p>	“You know, for someone who got all defensive and shit sayin’ I don’t know you, you’re awful quick to say I’d kill you,” Mondo said, reaching his hand up and rubbing the back of his neck. He looked genuinely angry.</p><p>	“I’ve seen you beat people up for a lot less,” Taka said, adjusting his uniform jacket and clutching his hall pass to his chest. “I’m surprised that I’ve avoided your fists for this long.” Mondo almost lurched at him, stopping just short of colliding with him.</p><p>	“Ya feelin’ left out?” </p><p>	After staring at him for a moment, Taka leaned to the side and carefully picked up the cigarette butt from the sink where he had left it. It was cool enough now to be put into the trash can, so he stepped out from in front of Mondo and walked towards the exit, flicking the butt into the trash.</p><p>	“I think you should learn to solve problems without your fists,” Taka said, turning around and looking over his shoulder for a moment. Mondo wore a scowl, one of the most intense that Taka had ever seen.</p><p>	“Don’t you have a class to get back to?” Mondo said, reaching into his jacket to bring out a red and white pack of cigarettes. He removed one and placed it between his lips, then nodded his head towards the hall pass that Taka was holding tightly.</p><p>	“Yes, I do,” Taka replied, not wanting to talk to the biker anymore. He pushed open the door to the hallway.</p><p>	“You fuckin’ owe me for that cig!”</p><p>	Taka ignored the shout as he left, continuing down the hallway on his way back to class.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Small Talk - POV Mondo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mondo Owada sat in the school cafeteria, a tray with a sandwich and an unopened bag of chips sitting on the table in front of him. His legs were propped up on the table, and he was playing around on his phone, very nearly bored out of his mind. He was alone today. He usually sat with Leon and Hiro, but Leon had extra mandatory practice that day, and Hiro was never where you needed him to be, so he sat alone. Mondo didn’t mind sitting alone, though. It gave him some time to himself, which he rarely got being the leader of a biker gang.</p><p>	After a while, Mondo felt another presence at the cafeteria table. He looked up to see Kiyotaka Ishimaru, a brown paper bag clutched in his hand and a backpack slung over his shoulders, sit in the chair at the far end of his table.</p><p>	“I’m only sitting here because my usual table is being cleaned,” Taka said, opening up his lunch bag, the paper crinkling as he did. Mondo breathed a sigh of relief. At least the kid wasn’t trying to make friends or anything. </p><p>	Mondo didn’t say anything, he just looked back down at his phone. Even though he had already scrolled through every app he had, it seemed like a better option than trying to have some mundane conversation with Mr. Hall Monitor. After just a minute of scrolling through his phone, he yawned and stretched out, adjusting his feet to be just a little closer to Taka’s food. Mondo couldn’t pretend like he didn’t enjoy pressing the kid’s buttons.</p><p>	Out of the corner of his eye, Mondo saw Taka move his sandwich off of the table. The biker smirked.</p><p>	“Can you please move your feet?” Taka said, his voice dripping with annoyance. Mondo looked up from his phone to see the hall monitor holding his cellophane-wrapped sandwich up to his chest.</p><p>	“No,” Mondo said simply, watching the hall monitor to see his reaction. He didn’t know the kid very well, but he knew that he was known to be quite the dramatic character. Mondo could almost see the rage build up in the other’s face.</p><p>	“Move your feet, Owada,” Taka said, his voice firm this time. Mondo could tell that he was terrified on the inside, though. He knew the kid saw him as a thug because he got into the school for being a biker gang leader.</p><p>	“I was here first,” Mondo said, lowering his phone and narrowing his eyes. He was starting to get pretty annoyed. All he wanted to do was eat lunch and get the hell out of there; he had no patience for the stick-up-the-ass. “Why the fuck should I?”</p><p>	Taka frowned and looked at the bottom of Mondo’s shoes, making a face.</p><p>	“Because it is polite to consider the needs of other people!” Taka said in his usual loud tone, angling his body away from Mondo’s feet.</p><p>	Mondo shoved his phone in his pocket, any semblance of patience he had disappearing. He leaned his torso forward, deliberately keeping his feet planted firm on the table. The nerve of this kid, sitting at his table and then trying to tell him how to spend his lunch break.</p><p>	“Well, I never claimed to be fuckin’ polite, did I?” Mondo looked at the hall monitor, an inciting look on his face. He really wanted to egg the kid on, seeing how far he could get him to go before he snapped. To his dismay, the boy merely sighed.</p><p>	“Look, I didn’t want to sit here either, okay?” Taka said, absentmindedly playing with the plastic wrap on his sandwich. “Please just move your feet. That way we both win! I can eat my food in a sanitary environment, and I won’t talk to you anymore.”</p><p>	This time, Mondo sighed. It wasn’t fun if the kid wasn’t arguing back.</p><p>	“Fine,” Mondo mumbled, dramatically swinging his legs down and slamming them onto the floor. He clenched his fists, still pissed off that he had to sit with the goody-goody, even just for one day.</p><p>	“Thanks,” Taka said, putting on a clearly fake smile. The boy looked down at his sandwich and unwrapped it, then quickly scratched something off of the bread before taking a bite. Mondo’s jaw fell open.</p><p>	“Was that. .” Mondo said, a look of disgust on his face. “Was that mold you just pulled off of that?” </p><p>	Taka froze up and his eyes went wide. Mondo watched his face; he could almost see the gears working.</p><p>	“Uh, yeah,” Taka said, setting the sandwich back down onto the table. His skinny fingers nervously picked at the crust on the sandwich. Mondo thought he even saw his hands get a little shaky. “Um, my dad forgot to get me groceries this week, so I’m still using last week’s bread.”</p><p>        Mondo could tell that that was only a half-truth, but it still made him feel like shit. He could see how upset the kid got at the comment. Mondo knew what it was like to not have enough food all the time, and it was not fun by any means. With much hesitation, he looked at his tray and slowly pushed it over closer to Taka. It still had half of his own sandwich and his unopened bag of chips.</p><p>        Mondo looked down at his phone but his eyes flicked up to Taka, who looked like he was debating on taking the tray. The kid’s face was bright red, and Mondo knew how embarrassing it was to have people take pity on you, so he hoped he didn’t interpret it like that.</p><p>        “Uh, thanks,” Taka said, reaching out and taking the bag of chips. Mondo looked back down at his phone, not really reading anything on it. “I’ll just have the rest of my sandwich.” Taka pushed the tray with the sandwich half back over to Mondo.</p><p>        “You can have it,” Mondo said, not looking up. “I’m not hungry anymore.” He winced, wishing he had never tried to be nice to the kid. It just made it all awkward.</p><p>        “Are you sure?” Taka said, and Mondo looked at him for half a second. The hall monitor’s face was bright red. He opened the bag of chips and Mondo heard him crunch one into his mouth. Mondo nodded.</p><p>        “Yeah, man. It’s fine,” Mondo said, keeping his eyes fixed on his phone for a moment before he looked at Taka again. The kid was wearing his uniform, like usual. “What d’ya wear that for?” Mondo pointed at the shiny medal on the hall monitor’s jacket. Taka looked down and placed a gentle hand on his medal.</p><p>        “My grandfather gave it to me!” Taka said, a wide grin emerging on his face. “But that was back before-” the boy seemed to cut himself off, his eyes going wide again. “Before he got eaten by a shark.” The hall monitor winced, probably realizing that it was a very obvious lie. Mondo decided not to press the issue further; he could tell the kid didn’t want to talk about it. He turned his attention to the arm band on his uniform and nodded at it.</p><p>        “D’ya got one of those for every outfit?” Mondo asked, and Taka reached over to clutch his arm band.</p><p>        “I only need one outfit: my school uniform!” Taka said, giving a quick salute before putting his hand back down at his side. The boy sighed quietly. “To be a professional, you need to look like a professional.” It looked like something he had said a million times.</p><p>        Mondo leaned back in his chair, giving a small smirk.</p><p>        “So, you’re sayin’ I’m not a professional? I got into this school too, ya know,” Mondo said, eyeing the hall monitor, who sighed again.</p><p>        “We’re all Ultimates, Owada. But not all talents lead to a professional career,” Taka said, and then he took a bite of his sandwich. Mondo winced, feeling bad that the kid felt like he had to eat moldy bread instead of having the rest of his sandwich. Once he was done chewing, Taka added, “I’m going to be the prime minister one day.”</p><p>        Mondo felt just the slightest pang of irritation when Taka made the comment about professionals. He was very much aware of the fact that he probably didn’t have a real future, even with being a Hope’s Peak alumni. He pushed the thought from his brain and laughed at what Taka had said.</p><p>        “That’s a hard dream to reach, don’t ya think?” Mondo said. Taka nodded quickly.</p><p>        “I know, but I believe I would be great at it! Better than-” Taka cut himself off again. “Better than some of the other ones!” Mondo snorted.</p><p>        “Yeah, I guess if anyone could become prime minister in this school, it would be you, rule book,” Mondo said, taking a drink of his nearly empty soda.</p><p>        “You know my name, Owada,” Taka said, frowning.</p><p>        “Whatever, Ishimaru.”</p><p>        Taka put the half-eaten bag of chips back on Mondo’s tray before standing up.</p><p>        “Do you want me to dispose of your tray for you?” Taka said, adjusting the jacket of his uniform. Mondo shrugged.</p><p>        “Sure, whatever,” Mondo said, waving his hand dismissively. He watched as Taka took his tray and dispensed the garbage into the trash can before carefully placing the tray on the stack of dirty trays. Mondo rolled his eyes and looked back at his phone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. An Agreement - POV Taka</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taka sat in the library at his usual table, all of his books splayed out in front of him. His eyes flicked between all of the words, trying to absorb the information. He would probably be there for a few hours yet; he still had a few subjects to get through. He reached off to the side and took a sip of his black coffee. It was cold now, but it kept him awake, so he suffered through it.</p><p>	After a few more minutes of reading, someone knocked quietly on the table, causing Taka to nearly jump out of his skin. He looked up to see Mondo, wearing his Crazy Diamonds jacket. When Taka looked up, the biker sat down at the table, looking around awkwardly for a moment before leaning in.<br/>	“Hey, uh,” Mondo said, his leg shaking. “I need a favor from you, hall monitor.”</p><p>	Taka sighed, looking up at Mondo and blinking. He was surprised that the biker would be seen talking to him. He was honestly surprised that the boy would be seen in the library at all; he assumed he had a reputation to uphold. The biker hadn’t even looked in his direction since their spat in the cafeteria the other day, which was pretty typical. It was kind of their thing; they would have an argument and then ignore each other until the next one.</p><p>	“A favor? From me?” Taka said, looking at the biker with a confused expression. He closed his book, not wanting to look rude. “What kind of favor?” Mondo’s gaze moved down, his eyes landing on anything except for Taka. He clasped his hands together.”</p><p>	“....need your fuckin’ help studying..” Mondo’s voice was quiet and mumble-y. Taka thought he might have even seen a hint of embarrassment flicker across the other’s face. He leaned forward in his seat.</p><p>	“You need my help with studying?” </p><p>	It didn’t really come as any sort of major surprise that someone would come to him for tutoring. After all, he had the top grades in their class. It was, however, a surprise that Mondo Owada was taking steps to better himself in the realm of academics.</p><p>	“But you don’t like me,” Taka said matter-of-factly. He wasn’t trying to garner pity or anything, it was just what they both knew to be the truth. While the biker wasn’t one of his usual tormentors, he was not exactly kind to him.</p><p>	“Listen, man,” Mondo said, leaning into the table, “Walters said if I don’t get my grades up I’ll fail the class, and he said if that happens I’m gonna be kicked out of the school.”</p><p>	Taka felt just a small bit of guilt build up in his chest. While they weren’t the best of friends, Taka would feel awful if he had the chance to help someone stay at Hope’s Peak and didn’t take it.</p><p>	“Plus, he said that if you help me, you’ll get extra credit or some shit.”</p><p>	Taka’s face lit up. He already had a nearly perfect grade, but he was always wanting to aim higher and do better. He slumped down in his seat, feeling defeated. It didn’t take much for Mondo to wear him down.</p><p>	“Okay, fine,” Taka said, sighing. “I don’t want you to get kicked out.”</p><p>	Mondo looked delighted at this development. He reached into his pocket and drew out his phone, clicking around on it for a second before handing it to Taka. </p><p>	Taka looked at the phone. It had an empty contact form displayed on the screen, asking for his name and phone number. He quickly typed in his information before handing the phone back to Mondo. He never expected to be exchanging contact information with the boy.</p><p>	“Sweet! Hold on, I’ll send you a text,” Mondo said, typing out a short message and hitting send before shoving his phone back into his pocket. Taka’s own phone vibrated. He took it out and read the message, which simply read “Mondo Owada.” He saved the contact before putting his phone in his backpack where it wouldn’t be a distraction to his studying.</p><p>	Mondo started to walk away before turning back and saying, “Err.. thanks, or whatever.”</p><p>	Taka watched the other boy walk away, shaking his head in disbelief. As soon as the biker disappeared into the hallway, he opened up his book again and started reading from where he left off.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Study Session - POV Mondo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mondo stood outside the entrance of the school, the corner of the rough brick wall digging into his back as he brought a cigarette up to his lips. He cupped his hands around it and used the lighter he found on the ground to spark it up, taking a long drag. He sighed and exhaled a cloud of smoke. </p><p>	It was his third cigarette of the day. He usually didn’t smoke this much, but this whole on the verge of being kicked out of school thing was really grating on him. He had gone through a couple packs since his conversation with the teacher, and he had developed a little bit of a cough, but he couldn’t stop lighting up.</p><p>	Mondo took another drag before taking out his phone to check the time.</p><p>	“Ah, shit,” he said, realizing he was late for his first study session with the hall monitor. He took another quick puff before flicking the cigarette onto the ground and stomping it out with his shoe. </p><p>	The library was just about empty, save the boy clad in all white at a table in the back, looking back and forth between his watch, his books, and the door. Mondo half-ran over to him, sitting down across from him. </p><p>	“‘Sup, man?” Mondo said, tapping his shoe on the ground to knock off some stray cigarette ash. Taka looked up and wrinkled his nose.</p><p>	“You know, I’m here to help you. Would it kill you to show up on time?” Taka said, closing up his book, which was probably one from another class. He shot an angry glance towards Mondo, and then bent down to look at the floor, rolling his eyes. “And maybe bring your backpack next time.” Mondo frowned, returning the eye roll. This kid could never understand his life and why he chose to do the things he did.</p><p>	“You’re always in here anyways,” Mondo said, taking his phone out and responding to a text message quickly. “And I was only a few minutes late, anyways, so why does it matter so fuckin’ much?” Taka pulled his collar up over his nose, which pissed Mondo off to no end. He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. Taka was staring at him angrily, his gaze almost burning a hole in Mondo’s head.</p><p>	“So my time isn’t as valuable as yours?” Taka responded. Mondo huffed and threw his feet up on the table. </p><p>	“Fuck, man. Alright. I’ll be here on time next time,” Mondo said, wishing he was anywhere but here. He knew that if he didn’t need help studying, he wouldn’t be caught anywhere near the library. It wasn’t a good look for a biker gang leader to be seen doing dorky shit like that. “I just lost track of time.” He looked at Taka with an almost challenging look, seeing if the hall monitor would push the argument further.</p><p>	“I appreciate that,” Taka said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Mondo felt himself get slightly more pissed off. “Now, what do you need help with?”</p><p>	Mondo paused. He was embarrassed of his answer to that question. He just felt so stupid when he walked into Walters’ class, and it wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling. The shit just didn’t make sense to him.</p><p>	“Uhh…” Mondo mumbled, shoving his hands in his pocket. He looked down at the table. “Language arts.”</p><p>	“I know that, Owada. We’re both in Walters’ class. I meant which area of language arts.”</p><p>	Mondo felt a blush spread over his face.</p><p>	“Uhh.. can’t ya just go over, like, all of it?” he said, gesturing to all the stuff on the table. He looked down at it. The books all looked in pristine condition, which was pretty different from Mondo’s books. On his, there was water damage and folded corners. Taka’s mouth fell open.</p><p>	“You want me to teach you an entire semester of material?” Taka said incredulously. Mondo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Usually during that class he was either asleep, doodling, or just staring out the window, wishing he was anywhere else.</p><p>	“Yeah, man,” he said, getting frustrated. “You’re like a genius. You tellin’ me you can’t handle it?” He really hoped that Taka wouldn’t change his mind; he knew he really needed the help. Taka sighed again.</p><p>	“I can do it,” Taka said, then after a moment, he added, “but you have to bring your supplies next time. Textbook, pencils, notebook. All of it.”</p><p>	“I, uh.. I don’t think I got a textbook,” Mondo said, knowing very well that he had one at some point, he had just misplaced it. He didn’t really have a lot of time to study. Most of his time was spent thinking about what the gang needed to do. Frankly, he just didn’t feel like getting bitched out by the hall monitor.</p><p>	“We can talk to Walters and see if we can get you one,” Taka said, sliding all of the unrelated supplies over to the side of the table. “You can borrow mine for today.” He opened up the book to the first chapter before handing it to Mondo, who took it and flipped it around so it was facing him. “Go ahead and read chapter one and then ask me any questions you have.”</p><p>	Mondo nodded, putting his feet back on the floor. He looked down at the book and hunched over it, reading the headline and then starting in on the body. The words started swimming off the page. He had never been good at reading, but he was too embarrassed to admit that to anyone. If he ever told his teachers, he wondered if they would offer him special help, but he knew he would be mortified if they did that, so he struggled in silence.</p><p>	Mondo’s hands clutched the sides of the book, his knuckles turning white. The sentences were all jumbled up, even when he read the same one over and over again. The frustration was seeping in and his leg started bouncing like crazy; it always did when he was feeling super anxious. He felt Taka’s eyes on him and his face started to turn red again.</p><p>	“Owada, do you… do you need help?” Taka said, his voice a whisper. Mondo whipped his head around to see if anyone was listening. “I can read it out loud if you’re having trouble.”</p><p>	“No!” The word came out a lot louder than he intended. He always shouted when he got flustered like that. After he had the chance to calm down for a second, he looked up at Taka, who was lowering his arms. He ignored that for the time being, lowering his voice and saying, “uh, maybe just read the first page. It helps when I can hear the shit out loud.”</p><p>	Taka nodded, and then said, “sure, no problem.” His voice was soft. It was probably the softest Mondo had ever heard the hall monitor talk; his usual tone was nearly shouting. Taka slid the book back over to himself and then started to read. After the first page, Mondo gestured for him to keep going.</p><p>	Mondo leaned his head on his hand and listened, genuinely surprised at how much of the material he was absorbing. After a minute, he crossed his arms on the table and laid his head down, but he didn’t fall asleep like usual. He listened to the hall monitor’s voice; the kid had such a melodic tone, and it was clear that he really did enjoy this stuff. Mondo was grateful for the variation in tone. It was certainly much more interesting than the way the teacher taught the stuff.</p><p>	Every once in a while, Mondo would ask questions, and Taka would give a smart-sounding answer, but his responses were succinct enough for Mondo to understand. Eventually, he looked up at Taka, who was leaning on the table.</p><p>	“You can stop if you want. My brain is gettin’ kinda fried anyway,” Mondo said, noticing how tired the hall monitor looked. He didn’t want to tucker the kid out too bad, afraid that if he did, he wouldn’t want to help him anymore. And he really, really needed the help. It seemed like a miracle that he found someone who was patient enough to read a chapter out loud to him.</p><p>	“We’re almost done with the chapter,” Taka said, and then he looked back down and finished up the last paragraph. When he was done, he shut the book and sighed. “So how are you feeling about the material from chapter one? I can answer a few more questions if you need it.”</p><p>	Mondo asked a few more questions, and Taka rattled off answers to every last one of them. Mondo nodded, wondering if he maybe wasn’t such a lost cause after all. He gave a small smile, and then quickly wiped it off his face, not wanting the other guy to see him getting even slightly excited about learning.</p><p>	“Man, this shit ain’t as bad as Walters makes it seem. Maybe if he explained it like you every once in a while, I wouldn’t skip so much,” Mondo said, and he saw Taka smile.</p><p>	“Yeah, his teaching methods are… questionable,” Taka responded, furrowing his brows and picking at a bit of dirt on the table. “I mean, not every student learns the same way.” He put the book back into his backpack and then zipped it back up.</p><p>	“If you want, I can make you an outline for each chapter. It might make it a bit easier to understand,” Taka said, looking at Mondo with sincerity. Mondo was shocked to hear that the kid would do any sort of extra work for him.</p><p>	“That would be… pretty fuckin’ helpful actually,” Mondo admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away, not used to being so genuine. “But don’t do it if ya don’t got time.” Taka shook his head.</p><p>	“I love doing school work. So next time I’ll bring you an outline of chapter one, and then we can read chapter two, okay?”</p><p>	Mondo looked down and smiled. He would never admit it, but he was kind of actually excited for the next study session. Understanding the reading for the first time all year almost gave him a rush. It wasn’t even close to being as thrilling as riding his motorcycle, but it was at least pleasant.</p><p>	“Well, uh,” Mondo said, standing up. “I got some shit to do. So I’ll see ya later.” He started to walk away, but then turned back and said, “I’ll bring my shit next time. I promise.”</p><p>	And he actually meant it.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Quiz Grade - POV Taka</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taka sat in a booth in the diner where he and Mondo had agreed to meet. He had showed up early, like usual. It gave him more time to study for his own classes. It was their 6th study session, and he could see Mondo getting better at grasping the material; he could also see the biker becoming more and more engaged with each time they met. It warmed Taka’s heart. Sharing his love and passion for learning was one of his favorite things to do.</p><p>	It wasn’t long before Mondo burst through the door, only three or so minutes late this time. It amazed Taka the way that he went from half an hour late to only a few.</p><p>	Mondo walked over to the table and slammed a piece of paper onto the table, causing Taka to flinch before reminding himself where he was.</p><p>	“Fuckin’ look!” Mondo said, smiling and throwing his backpack on the ground and sitting down in the chair across from Taka. He slid the crumpled piece of paper over. Taka took it and examined the writing. He quickly identified it as the quiz they had just taken in language arts. On the top was a big, red circle with a bold “B-” written on it. Taka’s face immediately broke out into a big grin.</p><p>	“Look at that!” Taka said, attempting to straighten out the paper on the corner of the table. Once it was about as flat as it was ever going to be, he handed it back. “That’s amazing, Owada. I’m proud of you.”</p><p>	Taka reached down to pat the pocket that his wallet was in. For a moment, he contemplated how much money he had. While Mondo was distracted getting out his supplies, he took out his wallet and opened it up, seeing that he had a few crinkled dollar bills.</p><p>	“Let me buy you a coffee to celebrate,” Taka said, wishing that he could offer more, but even the simple suggestion was a stretch. Mondo shook his head.</p><p>	“Nah, I wouldn’t know any of this shit if it wasn’t for you,” Mondo said, and Taka breathed a sigh of relief. He was very, very grateful that he wasn’t taken up on his offer. He really only had enough for a black coffee, but if Mondo had wanted anything like syrup or foam, there would have been an awkward situation.</p><p>	“I’m fuckin’ hungry, man. You eaten anything yet?” Mondo asked, rubbing his stomach. Taka held up his black coffee.</p><p>	“Lunch,” Taka said, kind of joking but not really. He saw Mondo make a face.</p><p>	“That ain’t lunch,” Mondo said, picking up the laminated menu from the table and looking it over. He handed one to Taka. “C’mon, let’s eat something before we start. I’m too hungry to focus.”</p><p>	Taka nodded slowly, reading over the menu. He had been to the diner a couple of times, but he usually just ordered a drink. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for the employees to let him sit at the table and study. The numbers next to the menu items made Taka’s eyes bulge out of his head as he remembered the pitiful state of his wallet.</p><p>	A waitress came over to take their order after Mondo gestured her over. The biker ordered a burger, fries, and a Coke before looking over at Taka, waiting to hear his order.</p><p>	Taka bit his lip and looked at the menu, which he was probably clutching too tightly. His eyes darted over all the options before settling on one that he would be able to pay for.</p><p>	“I will have two pieces of white toast, please!” Taka said, smiling and handing the menu back to the waitress. She smiled and told them it would be right out, flipping her hair over her shoulder and walked away.</p><p>	“You gotta eat a real meal sometimes, man,” Mondo said, frowning. He picked up the salt shaker and shook some of it out on the table, drawing shapes with his finger. “Coffee and bread ain’t a meal.”</p><p>	Taka hands clutched the sides of the table so hard his knuckles were turning white.</p><p>	“I’m, uh. . .” Taka searched his brain. “I’m not hungry?” He winced, knowing it sounded much more like a question than a statement. Black coffee was an appetite suppressant, though, so he hoped Mondo would make that connection and not press any further. But he felt the biker’s eyes on him, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.</p><p>	“What’s going on?” Mondo asked, a look of concern on his face. Taka looked back down at the table. He felt backed into a corner.</p><p>	“I can’t afford anything else,” Taka said, his voice barely audible. He honestly wasn’t sure if he had spoken loud enough for Mondo to hear, and he kind of hoped that he hadn’t. The table was silent for a minute, Taka’s words hanging in the air.</p><p>	After a moment, Mondo sighed and said, “I’m sorry, man.” Taka nodded, still clutching the sides of the table and staring straight ahead. It was never a fun conversation when someone found out about his financial situation, but it was especially uncomfortable when that someone was a person he had grown to care for. He found himself valuing Mondo’s opinion of him, so this reveal made him feel pitied and embarrassed.</p><p>	“It’s alright,” Taka said, releasing his grip on the table and trying to regulate his breathing. “I’ve become accustomed to small meals like this.”</p><p>	The waitress came over and set down their food. The two boys sat there wordlessly, their heads in their hands. The sound of the ceramic plates clanging against the table seemed to echo a million times over in the silence. After a minute, Taka heard one of the plates sliding across the table and he looked up to see Mondo’s burger cut in half.</p><p>	Taka looked up at Mondo, who was wearing a soft expression, but he was looking down at his feet. Taka slowly reached his hand out to grab half of the burger. He took a big bite and chewed deliberately, closing his eyes and savoring it, fully aware that it might be the only thing he ate for the entire day.</p><p>	“Um, should we study?” Taka asked, wanting desperately to change the subject, or at the very least, ease some of the tension.</p><p>	“Yeah! Now that I got my quiz back I’m ready to learn more,” Mondo said, nodding and smiling. He shoved a few fries into his mouth before washing it down with a big drink of Coke. He grabbed his half of the burger and leaned back in his chair, his leg brushing against Taka’s as he extended it.</p><p>	Taka took another bite before setting his burger half down next to his pieces of white toast. He wiped his fingers off on his napkin before turning the textbook sideways so that Mondo could follow along with the text if he wanted to.</p><p>	“Chapter six. . .” Taka started, reading the headline and then starting in on the body. He read as he always did, making it as engaging as possible. He knew that the material could be quite boring to someone who wasn’t as interested in it as he was. Soon enough, the chapter was over, and Taka reached over to his burger, which he was disappointed to find was cold.</p><p>	“Do you have any questions?” Taka asked, absentmindedly picking at the top bun of the burger. Mondo shook his head.</p><p>	“No, not today,” Mondo said before sucking down the last of his soda. He slammed the plastic cup back on the table and the ice cubes jumped before noisily settling back down on the bottom of the glass. Taka could feel Mondo’s pity; it was written all over the biker’s face. He didn’t care for it one bit.</p><p>	“Well, chapter seven is a bit more complicated, so be prepared for that next time, okay?” Taka said, pulling out his wallet and opening it up. He sighed after examining its contents. He had enough to pay, but he only had a few cents left for the waitress.</p><p>	“Will you give her a good tip for me?” Taka said, removing the bills and placing them on the table next to his uneaten food. Mondo nodded, pulling out his own wallet and setting down enough money for his meal and a generous tip for the waitress.</p><p>	Mondo seemed to hesitate before he said, “I’ll see ya next time, okay?” The biker gave a sad look before he left the diner. Taka watched as he hopped onto his motorcycle and revved the engine before taking off down the street.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Sleep - POV Mondo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mondo sat in the nurse’s office, tapping his foot impatiently on the tile floor. His taps made some annoying sounds, but he ignored it, looking around for the nurse. He had gotten into a fight before class and bruised his knuckles up pretty bad. So he sat there, thinking about Taka, who he hadn’t seen for a few days. He felt fucking awful for making the kid bring up his personal issues, and he wasn’t very. . . skilled with emotions.</p><p>	Mikan, the Ultimate Nurse, walked over to him and started to wrap up his knuckles. She had already given him some antibiotic ointment earlier.</p><p>	“You should have seen the other guy,” Mondo joked as Mikan finished wrapping his hands up. She gave a nervous laugh before walking away. Mondo huffed and rolled his eyes. He just wanted the okay to go back to class and he didn’t know what was taking so long.</p><p>	After just a couple minutes of sitting, someone stumbled into the nurse’s office, making quite the racket. Mondo looked up to see Taka leaning on the shoulders of another classmate. The hall monitor thanked the classmate before saying hello to Mikan, who told him to sit on the bed. Taka did so, giving Mondo a half-hearted wave.</p><p>	Taka looked like absolute shit. He was far paler than normal and his dark circles were incredibly dark; not to mention the fact that he seemed to be tripping over his own feet. Mondo stood up from the chair and rushed over to Taka, unable to stop the flood of worry that washed over him. Taka frowned and pushed himself up.</p><p>	“They made me come here,” Taka said, his speech slurred, “just because I almost passed out in class.” He had an annoyed tone. Mondo’s eyes went wide. “The student behind me caught me before my head hit the floor, so I don’t even see what the problem was.”</p><p>	“Passed out?” Mondo’s voice was probably louder than it should have been. Taka didn’t have time to respond before Mikan rushed over with a couple of tools to take his vitals. Mondo stepped out of her way but stayed close, looking at the whole situation with concern. Taka looked over at him as Mikan took his blood pressure.</p><p>	“Yeah. I barely even passed out,” Taka said, closing his eyes and slowly opening them back up. “I need to study for my test. They don’t understand.” He thanked Mikan before she walked away. Taka reached up and rubbed his eyes for a long minute. “I wish they would just let me go back to class.”</p><p>	“Ishimaru,” Mondo said, looking down at the hall monitor and noticing how exhausted he looked, “how much have you been studying? Have you been sleepin’ enough?”</p><p>	Taka reluctantly shook his head.</p><p>	“I’ve been up studying since Tuesday. This is a very important test and sleep would just be a distraction!” Taka said loudly, laying down on the table and rubbing his temples. Mondo stared at him with wide eyes.</p><p>	“Dude, are you fuckin’ serious?” Mondo shouted. He didn’t mean to shout; it just kind of happened when he got nervous. He was surprised how worried he was about the kid. That worry very quickly turned into anger, as most of Mondo’s emotions did. “You can’t just not fuckin’ sleep! No test is that important.”</p><p>	Taka blinked and shook his head.</p><p>	“This is the most important test of the semester. I have to do well on it,” Taka said. Mikan walked back over with a stethoscope and placed it against Taka’s chest, telling him to take a deep breath in. “Can’t I just get a coffee and go back to class?”</p><p>	“No!” Mondo yelled, causing Mikan to jump. Taka had a delayed reaction, waiting a few seconds before his entire body jerked. Mikan shyly agreed that Taka needed to stay there and rest. “The fuck is wrong with you, man? You’re a genius. You’ll do well on the test either way. You can’t just ignore your fuckin’ health for this shit.” Taka looked between the two of them, an angry expression contorting his face. </p><p>	“I’m going back to class,” Taka said indignantly, pushing himself off of the nurse’s bed. He stood up and almost immediately fell. Mondo grabbed his arm firmly, but not before the kid’s head could smack against the edge of the bed. He lifted Taka back up and helped him back onto the bed. Mikan rushed over to examine Taka’s head, making sure there was no bleeding or serious injury.</p><p>	Mondo once again felt anger well up inside him. He clenched his fists.</p><p>	“You fuckin’ idiot! Stay your ass in the bed!” Mondo shouted, fuming. Taka was so patient with him while they were studying and Mondo hated seeing the kid in this pitiful state. The hall monitor looked over at him and pouted. His eyes kept fluttering shut but it looked like he was forcing them back open every time.</p><p>	“I wish you wouldn’t swear so much,” Taka said, crossing his arms at Mondo. Mondo watched as his eyelids drooped; after a moment, his entire body jolted awake. Mondo watched him fight his need for sleep with sad eyes. The kid was being such a stubborn jackass.</p><p>	Mikan came back with some medication for Taka’s head that was also meant to make him drowsy. Mondo took the pills and thanked her, definitely not trusting Taka to take them on his own. </p><p>	“They’re going to make me sleep, aren’t they?” Taka said, his eyes half-closed. “I don’t want to sleep.”</p><p>	Mondo sighed. Mikan came back with a glass of water for Taka to take the medicine. Mondo handed him the pills and watched carefully as he took them, making sure he was actually swallowing. She told him that he needed to go back to his dorm and get some rest. Taka immediately opened his mouth to argue, but Mondo spoke over him.</p><p>	“I’ll make sure he gets back.”</p><p>	The two started off towards Taka’s dorm.</p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>	Mondo watched Taka try to unlock his dorm for a minute before he gently took the key from his hand and unlocked the door, stepping out of the way so Taka could step inside. The hall monitor walked over to the cabinets, once again tripping over his own feet. He reached up and searched for a minute before pulling out a container of coffee grounds. Mondo frowned and walked over, grabbing the container from his hands.</p><p>	“You can’t have no fuckin’ coffee. You’re supposed t’ be sleeping.” He pointed at the bed. “Go sit down.” Taka reluctantly went and sat on the bed.<br/>As Mondo looked around the dorm, he realized how pristine it was. There didn’t seem to be a speck of dust anywhere. He opened up some of the cabinets looking for a cup and was saddened by how little food there was. Eventually, he found an empty cup and removed it, taking it to the sink and filling it up with water. He brought the cup over to Taka and handed it to him.</p><p>“Drink some water.”</p><p>Taka lazily took the cup and mumbled out an “okay.” He brought it up to his lips and took a sip, then another. After a few seconds, Mondo saw his eyelids closing, and before he could grab the cup, it fell to the floor, splashing water everywhere. Mondo winced, realizing giving him the water wasn’t a great idea.</p><p>“Lay down, Ishimaru,” Mondo said, sighing and gently pushing Taka back onto the bed with little resistance. He walked over to the side of the bed, sitting down and starting to work on untying the hall monitor’s boots.</p><p>“It’s okay,” Taka said, reaching down and weakly grasping at the laces. “I can take them off.” Mondo let out a soft chuckle, gently pushing the boy’s hand away.</p><p>“I don’t think you could if you tried,” Mondo said, finally getting the first boot off. He kept working and eventually got the second boot off. His eyes drifted over to Taka, who was looking back at him through sleepy, half-open eyes. As exhausted as he looked, the kid almost looked peaceful. Mondo felt his heart flutter for reasons he didn’t really understand.</p><p>“You’ve gotta sleep now, Ishi,” Mondo said softly, smiling at the boy. He wasn’t sure why he had used a nickname, but it felt right in the moment.</p><p>“Ishi,” Taka repeated, smiling back weakly. He reached out to pat Mondo’s arm, saying, “Thank you, Owada.” His eyes were practically completely closed at this point and Mondo could tell he was very nearly losing consciousness. “Is it okay if I sleep now?” </p><p>“Yeah, man,” Mondo said, gazing upon him fondly. “It’s okay.”</p><p>It didn’t take long at all before Mondo heard soft snores coming from the boy. He shook his head, still in disbelief at how stubborn the kid was. Either way, he reached over and pulled the blanket over Taka, lightly tucking it in around him. As he looked down on him sleeping, Mondo felt a warmth in his chest that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. He thought maybe the hall monitor was growing on him.</p><p>Mondo decided to stay for a while to make sure Taka stayed asleep and didn’t try to wake up and study or do some other stupid shit. He stood up from the bed, stretching out and walking over to the desk chair on the other side of the room. He sat down and pulled his phone out, intending on playing on it for a bit before leaving. But his own tiredness took over, and he drifted off to sleep, his phone falling out of his hand and resting on the floor.</p>
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